Swing plane tee apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

There is provided herein an apparatus and method for teaching a baseball participant how best to swing a bat in order to urge a struck ball to fly in a particular direction. More particularly, various embodiments provide immediate feedback to the batter make proper corrections for a properly hit baseball by forcing the batter to swing the bat at a predetermined angle appropriate for a desired ball trajectory.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/729,028 filed on Sep. 10, 2018, and incorporatessaid provisional application by reference into this document as if fullyset out at this point.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to baseball training devices and, morespecifically, to systems and methods of training a batter to properlyswing a bat.

BACKGROUND

Needless to say, a fundamental skill in the game of baseball is anability to hit the ball. For beginners, being able to make any sort ofcontact with a thrown ball is sufficient. However, more skilled playersnot only want to be able to hit the ball but also to direct the ball toa particular part of the field. Some players learn this skill bytrial-and-error. However, there are known techniques for so directingthe ball which can be taught and learned.

As might be expected, a skill this important to the play of the game hasbeen subject to a large number of inventive efforts and there arevarious devices on the market that seek to help a player betterunderstand and learn how the bat and/or swing angle can be adjusted toinfluence the resulting ball trajectory. However, all of the prior artapproaches have various problems.

Thus, what is needed is an improved apparatus to assist a ball playerlearn how to hit the ball in a particular direction by adjusting theangle of the swung bat.

Before proceeding to a description of the present invention, however, itshould be noted and remembered that the description of the inventionwhich follows, together with the accompanying drawings, should not beconstrued as limiting the invention to the examples (or embodiments)shown and described. This is so because those skilled in the art towhich the invention pertains will be able to devise other forms of thisinvention within the ambit of the appended claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is provided herein an apparatus and method for teaching a baseballparticipant how best to swing a bat in order to urge the struck ball tofly in a particular direction. More particularly, various embodimentstaught herein provide immediate feedback to the batter to assist him orher in adjusting the angle of the bat during a swing so that the stuckball is launched according to a desired trajectory. No other knownproduct corrects the swing plane and swing path of the bat so that theball may be hit correctly.

In one embodiment of the instant batting trainer, a generally planarsurface is provided that is adjustable at least with respect to itsheight and its tilt angle. Projecting above the surface is a tee onwhich a baseball or other ball (e.g., a softball) may be placed so thatit may be struck with a bat. After the ball is so-placed, a batter thenpositions him- or herself proximate to the trainer, thereby allowing theheight to be adjusted, if necessary, to reflect the batter's particularphysiology. Finally, the angle of the planar surface can be adjusted atthe angle at which the coach desires the batter to swing the bat. A ballis placed atop the tee on its upper terminus. The batter is theninstructed to swing at the ball while maintaining the bat at an anglethat is parallel to the angle of the planar surface. Failure to maintainthe requested angle will be immediately obvious to the batter, as thebat will contact the planar surface.

The foregoing has outlined in broad terms some of the more importantfeatures of the invention disclosed herein so that the detaileddescription that follows may be more clearly understood, and so that thecontribution of the instant inventors to the art may be betterappreciated. The instant invention is not to be limited in itsapplication to the details of the construction and to the arrangementsof the components set forth in the following description or illustratedin the drawings. Rather, the invention is capable of other embodimentsand of being practiced and carried out in various other ways notspecifically enumerated herein. Finally, it should be understood thatthe phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting, unless thespecification specifically so limits the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and further aspects of the invention are described in detail inthe following examples and accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the instant batter swing trainer inwhich the planar swing surface 110 has been elevated.

FIG. 2 illustrates an underside view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, wherethe planar swing surface 110 has been lowered as compared with theembodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 contains a variation in which an adjustable tee assembly 320 hasbeen provided, wherein the tee assembly in this embodiment is adjustablevertically and horizontally as well as rotatably with respect to thesupport bar 350.

FIG. 4 contains another view of the embodiment of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 contains an illustration of an embodiment which utilizes afree-standing tee assembly 510.

FIG. 6 contains another view of the embodiment of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 contains an illustration of how an embodiment might be utilizedin practice. In this figure the batter is preparing to hit the ball thatis resting atop the tee assembly.

FIG. 8 contains an illustration of the embodiment of FIG. 7 at the pointin time where the batter's swing contacts the ball.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many differentforms, there is shown in the drawings, and will herein be describedhereinafter in detail, some specific embodiments of the instantinvention. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosureis to be considered an exemplification of the principles of theinvention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specificembodiments or algorithms so described.

According to an embodiment, there is provided a batting or swingtraining device and method that is designed to teach a batter how toproperly angle a bat in order to direct a thrown baseball in a desireddirection.

The swing trainer 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2 generally comprises a planarsurface 110 that can be tilted at different angles and that contains atleast one aperture 125 therethrough. In some embodiments, the aperture125 might be circular in shape. In other instances, it might beelongated in a direction away from the location where the batter standsas is generally indicated in FIG. 1. This configuration (i.e., FIG. 1)might be particularly useful for those embodiments where it is desiredto move the position of the ball toward or away from the batter tosimulate an inside or outside pitch. Of course, the size, shape, andorientation of the aperture 125 is not critical and those of ordinaryskill in the art will recognize how it might be adapted to suitdifferent configurations of the instant invention and to simulatedifferent thrown ball scenarios.

In some embodiments the planar surface 110 will be rotatably mountedatop extension member 145 so that it can be tilted as much as 75° ineither direction, where the amount of rotation is measured with respectto generally horizontal surface on which the trainer 100 is placed. Thisallows the instant trainer 100 to be readily adjusted to accommodateboth left- and right-handed batters. In some embodiments the angle oftilt will be measured by an inclinometer 135, preferably a digitalinclinometer, that is affixed to the underside of the planar surface110.

According to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the planar surface 110 isadjustable in height to accommodate batters of different heights. Insome embodiments the adjustment might be made using a crank and gearmechanism 105 which is designed to extend the extension member 145 inorder to elevate the planar surface 110. In some embodiments the amountof adjustment in the height that is provided by the crank 105 might beas much as 15″, although those of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that the amount of adjustment that is provided is a designdecision that could be readily altered to suit the needs of a particulargroup of batters, e.g., elementary school batters could need a differentrange of elevation levels than, say, a group of college age batters.Some embodiments will utilize a configuration where an upper supportmember 140 is slideably nested within the base support member 150. Someembodiments will allow adjustment via a series of holes in the uppersupport member 140 and a compatible hole or holes in the base supportmember 150 sized to accommodate an inserted pin. This arrangement couldprovide additional height adjustment (e.g., 6″) at intervalscorresponding to the spacing of the holes in the support member. Otherarrangements are clearly possible.

Also present in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 are a plurality ofstylized drawings 155 on the upper face of the planar surface 110 thatgenerally represent a home plate of the sort traditionally used in gamessuch as softball and baseball. One use for these drawings 155 is toprovide visual feedback to the batter to assist him or her in assuming apreferred position with respect to home plate in advance of swinging atthe ball. The multiple home plate drawings 155 are provided so that,among others, the distance between the ball and the plate can besystematically varied by moving the batter closer or further away fromthe ball so that the point of contact with the ball is a greater orlesser distance ahead of the representation of home plate 155. Ofcourse, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that theposition an individual takes in the batter's box with respect to homeplate is an important component of a hitter's batting style andstrategy. Various embodiments allow the batter to take positions forwardor backward in the batter's box with respect to the representations ofhome plate 155 that are imprinted on the planar surface 110, and alsonearer to and farther away from the plate 155 to simulate swinging atinside and outside pitches.

According to the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4, a tee assembly 320 ispositionable to be inserted through the planar surface aperture 425 andis configured to hold a ball 330 (e.g., a baseball) on its upperterminus so that the ball is elevated above the planar surface 310 whilea batter swings at it. The tee assembly 325 could be constructed withnested tubing that allows the elevation of the ball 330 to be adjustable(e.g., using a compression ring arrangement) with respect to the planarsurface 310 to suit different batters or to simulate different pitchheights. The tee assembly 320 might be made of metal, plastic, PVCtubing, etc. In some embodiments the assembly 320 might be pivotablyattached to lateral support member 350 so that the angle of the tee 330with respect to the lateral support member 350 might be adjusted toaccommodate different orientations of the planar surface 425.Additionally, certain embodiments will allow the tee assembly 320 to bemovable along the length of the lateral support member 350 so that thedistance from the batter can be varied to simulate inside and outsidepitches.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate still another embodiment. In this case the teeassembly 510 is configured to be a free-standing component of theinstant swing training device 100 and preferably is configured to besupported by a base 530 that is positionable to be underneath the planarsurface in a way that allows the upper terminus of the tee assembly 510to extend through the aperture 125 so that a ball can be placed atop it.In the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6, the distance that tee assembly 510extends about the planar surface 110 can be adjusted by a crankmechanism of the same sort as that discussed in connection with FIGS. 1and 2. Alternative arrangements for modifying the height of the ball arecertainly possible and well within the ability of one of ordinary skillin the art to devise.

In operation and as is generally indicated in FIGS. 7 and 8, in oneembodiment the batter will be positioned and the instant device adjustedin height to accommodate that individual. A hitting direction will bedetermined (e.g., to left or right field) and, depending on whether thebatter is left- or right-handed, the planar surface 110 will be tiltedto provide a guide to the batter when s/he is hitting the ball. A ballwill be placed on the tee assembly 520 that extends upward through theplanar surface 110 and the batter will be encouraged to hit it byswinging the bat at an angle that is roughly parallel to the angle ofthe planar surface 110. Obviously, the planar surface 110 will operateto enforce the choice of swing angle both visually, by providing a clearguide, and physically, by causing the bat to recoil if it is swung at anangle that is incompatible with the current setting and the batencounters the planar surface 110. Thus, a batter who contacts the ballat an appropriate angle will avoid contact with the surface 110 whichwill teach him or her the angle of the bat that is most appropriate touse in a given batting scenario.

As a specific example, a right-handed batter wanting to drive the ballto right field would set the angle of the planar surface 110 at an angleof between about 12-25 degrees as measured from the horizontal. As ageneral matter, the numerical value of the angle of the planar surface110 should not normally be smaller than about 12 degrees or higher thanabout 25 degrees, although in certain cases it certainly might bebeneficial to adjust it to a greater or lesser angle of inclination. Aleft-handed batter who desires to hit to left field would use the sameangular setting, 12-25 degrees, although measured from the opposite sideof the device 100.

As another example, a right-handed batter wanting to pull the ball tothe left field would set the angle of the planar surface 110 to about 25to 40 degrees with respect to horizontal. The same would apply for aleft-handed batter wanting to hit the ball to right field.

As indicated previously, the height of the instant embodiment 100 can beraised or lowered to adjust it to the height of a batter. From there theplanar surface 100 can be elevated 5-10 inches for an outside pitch andlowered 5-10 inches for an inside pitch.

It is to be understood that the terms “including”, “comprising”,“consisting” and grammatical variants thereof do not preclude theaddition of one or more components, features, steps, or integers orgroups thereof and that the terms are to be construed as specifyingcomponents, features, steps or integers.

If the specification or claims refer to “an additional” element, thatdoes not preclude there being more than one of the additional element.

It is to be understood that where the claims or specification refer to“a” or “an” element, such reference is not be construed that there isonly one of that element.

It is to be understood that where the specification states that acomponent, feature, structure, or characteristic “may”, “might”, “can”or “could” be included, that particular component, feature, structure,or characteristic is not required to be included.

Where applicable, although state diagrams, flow diagrams or both may beused to describe embodiments, the invention is not limited to thosediagrams or to the corresponding descriptions. For example, flow neednot move through each illustrated box or state, or in exactly the sameorder as illustrated and described.

Methods of the present invention may be implemented by performing orcompleting manually, automatically, or a combination thereof, selectedsteps or tasks.

The term “method” may refer to manners, means, techniques and proceduresfor accomplishing a given task including, but not limited to, thosemanners, means, techniques and procedures either known to, or readilydeveloped from known manners, means, techniques and procedures bypractitioners of the art to which the invention belongs.

For purposes of the instant disclosure, the term “at least” followed bya number is used herein to denote the start of a range beginning withthat number (which may be a ranger having an upper limit or no upperlimit, depending on the variable being defined). For example, “at least1” means 1 or more than 1. The term “at most” followed by a number isused herein to denote the end of a range ending with that number (whichmay be a range having 1 or 0 as its lower limit, or a range having nolower limit, depending upon the variable being defined). For example,“at most 4” means 4 or less than 4, and “at most 40%” means 40% or lessthan 40%. Terms of approximation (e.g., “about”, “substantially”,“approximately”, etc.) should be interpreted according to their ordinaryand customary meanings as used in the associated art unless indicatedotherwise. Absent a specific definition and absent ordinary andcustomary usage in the associated art, such terms should be interpretedto be ±10% of the base value.

When, in this document, a range is given as “(a first number) to (asecond number)” or “(a first number)-(a second number)”, this means arange whose lower limit is the first number and whose upper limit is thesecond number. For example, 25 to 100 should be interpreted to mean arange whose lower limit is 25 and whose upper limit is 100.Additionally, it should be noted that where a range is given, everypossible subrange or interval within that range is also specificallyintended unless the context indicates to the contrary. For example, ifthe specification indicates a range of 25 to 100 such range is alsointended to include subranges such as 26-100, 27-100, etc., 25-99,25-98, etc., as well as any other possible combination of lower andupper values within the stated range, e.g., 33-47, 60-97, 41-45, 28-96,etc. Note that integer range values have been used in this paragraph forpurposes of illustration only and decimal and fractional values (e.g.,46.7-91.3) should also be understood to be intended as possible subrangeendpoints unless specifically excluded.

It should be noted that where reference is made herein to a methodcomprising two or more defined steps, the defined steps can be carriedout in any order or simultaneously (except where context excludes thatpossibility), and the method can also include one or more other stepswhich are carried out before any of the defined steps, between two ofthe defined steps, or after all of the defined steps (except wherecontext excludes that possibility).

Further, it should be noted that terms of approximation (e.g., “about”,“substantially”, “approximately”, etc.) are to be interpreted accordingto their ordinary and customary meanings as used in the associated artunless indicated otherwise herein. Absent a specific definition withinthis disclosure, and absent ordinary and customary usage in theassociated art, such terms should be interpreted to be plus or minus 10%of the base value.

Still further, additional aspects of the instant invention may be foundin one or more appendices attached hereto and/or filed herewith, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference as if fullyset out at this point.

Thus, the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects andattain the ends and advantages mentioned above as well as those inherenttherein. While the inventive device has been described and illustratedherein by reference to certain preferred embodiments in relation to thedrawings attached thereto, various changes and further modifications,apart from those shown or suggested herein, may be made therein by thoseof ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spirit of theinventive concept the scope of which is to be determined by thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for training a batter to hit a ball,comprising: (a) a planar surface having at least one aperturetherethrough, said planar surface being rotatably mounted on a base; and(b) a ball tee extending upward through said aperture, said ball tee atleast for receiving the ball thereon.
 2. A device for training a batterto hit a ball according to claim 1, wherein said planar surface isadjustable at angles between 0° and 75° with respect to the horizontal.3. A device for training a batter to hit a ball according to claim 1,wherein said ball tee is slideably and rotatably mounted to an undersideof said planar surface.
 4. A device for training a batter to hit a ballaccording to claim 3, wherein said ball tee is adjustable in length toallow a height of the ball above said planar surface to be increased ordecreased.
 5. A device for training a batter to hit a ball according toclaim 3, wherein said ball tee is adjustable in height to allow a heightof the ball above said planar surface to be varied.
 6. A device fortraining a batter to hit a ball according to claim 1, wherein said balltee is free-standing and wherein said ball tee is supported by a basepositionable to be underneath said planar surface.
 7. A device fortraining a batter to hit a ball according to claim 1, wherein saidplanar surface has one or more indicia representative of a home plateimprinted thereon.
 8. A device for training a batter to hit a ballaccording to claim 1, wherein said aperture is circular.
 9. A method oftraining a batter to hit a ball, wherein is provided the apparatus ofclaim 1, comprising the steps of: (a) determining a desired field; (b)using said desired field to determine a desired training angle of saidplanar surface; (c) adjusting an angle of said planar surface to atleast approximately equal said desired training angle; (d) positioningthe ball atop said ball tee; (e) positioning the batter with respect tothe ball; and (f) allowing the batter to hit the ball with a bat withoutcontacting said planar surface, thereby training the batter to hit theball to the desired field.
 10. A method according to claim 9, step (b)comprises the step of: (b1) if a right-handed batter desires to hit toright field, determining that the training angle should be between 12and 25 degrees; (b2) if a left-handed batter desires to hit to leftfield, determining that the training angle should be between 12 and 25degrees; (b3) if a right-handed batter desires to hit to left field,determining that the training angle should be between 25 and 40 degrees;and (b4) if a left-handed batter desires to hit to right field,determining that the training angle surface should be between 25 and 40degrees; and wherein, step (c) comprises the step of: (c1) adjustingsaid angle of said planar surface to an angle within said training angleinterval.
 11. A method of training a batter to hit a ball, wherein isprovided the apparatus of claim 7, comprising the steps of: (a)determining a desired field; (b) using said desired field to determine adesired training angle of said planar surface; (c) adjusting an angle ofsaid planar surface to at least approximately equal said desiredtraining angle; (d) positioning the ball atop said ball tee; (e)positioning the batter with respect to one of said indiciarepresentative of a home plate; and (e) allowing the batter to hit theball with a bat without contacting said planar surface, thereby trainingthe batter to hit the ball to the desired field.
 12. A device fortraining a batter to hit a ball, comprising: (a) a planar surface havingat least one aperture therethrough, said planar surface being rotatablymounted on a base; and (b) a ball tee extending upward through saidaperture, said ball tee at least for receiving the ball thereon and saidball tee being adjustable to a plurality of different heights above saidplanar surface.
 13. A device for training a batter to hit a ballaccording to claim 12, wherein said aperture is elongated in a directionaway from the batter.
 14. A device for training a batter to hit a ballaccording to claim 13, wherein said ball tee is movable laterally withinsaid aperture toward and away from the batter.
 15. A device for traininga batter to hit a ball according to claim 14, wherein said ball tee ismovably mounted on a lateral support member affixed to an underside ofsaid planar surface.